Marine Love
by Vema
Summary: Minion notices someone hovering on the edge of the crowds, and is surprised when she's interested in getting to know HIM instead of his boss. Not graphic, just romantic. Oneshot.


**Marine Love**

.

*o0o*

.

_**I didn't feel like Minion was getting enough affection in my stories, so I wrote him his own! That being said, I'm not super psyched about sexy fish time, so this is a T-rated story. Yes, I know how to write things that aren't dirty. Well, mostly aren't dirty. It's a strong T. Anyway, enjoy my oneshot! Peace out!**_

.

*o0o*

.

Sir had been the city's new hero for just a few days when he started observing her. Hovering near the edges of the action, she hadn't attracted his attention fully until the fourth or fifth time it happened. It was obvious that Sir was interested only in Miss Ritchie, so why was she there?

Minion was always very good at gauging the intentions of others. That was part of the reason his species has been chosen for their role; what good would he be if he couldn't help protect Sir from unsavory attention? The girl, no older than eighteen by Minion's guess, was at every public appearance, near the front of the crowd. He'd made eye contact with the black-haired, brown-eyed girl the last eight or so times, but she didn't seem to hold much of a threat. It was just after this that he'd realized she was staring at _him, _and not Sir_._

Wow. It was a strange revelation. What could possibly be so fascinating about him instead of his boss?The fish still treated each event with the same care and inspiration as always, but his scaly cheeks flushed bright pink when he noticed the searching gaze each time. What was she staring at? Was he such an abnormality that she couldn't satisfy her morbid curiosity by just staring at his gorilla suit? But over time, he found himself awaiting the expected attention, looking for the chocolate brown gaze as his master addressed the masses.

Finally, months after it had begun, he felt a tug on his arm, and turned to see the kinky curls and brown skin closer than he'd anticipated. "Yes, Miss?" he squeaked, swallowing his nerves.

"Hi. I'm... um.. Lily." She smiled and looked down, seeming shy. "I... uh... I wanted to meet you."

"Sir is almost done if you'd like an autograph," he offered selflessly.

"No, I mean, not him. You."

.

*o0o*

.

Minion leaned back in the soft grass, looking down to where her head rested on his chest. Well, not his chest, not really. Her head was resting on the chest of a furry robot ape suit. Not much was romantic or even comfortable about that, in his opinion, but she didn't seem to mind, and having her close was nice.

It was hard not to lament his lack of a humanoid form at times like these, when she had asked him out on a date.

He ached to ask her to touch him, _him_, not the suit. It wasn't even about sex; just having another living being that he cared about touch his flesh was something he craved, the same way he craved water. It didn't happen often. No one had touched him at all, except for Sir, and that was usually clinical and cold, something born of necessity rather than affection.

Lily sensed his unease, it seemed, and lifted her head. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Are you enjoying the nice weather, Miss Williams?" he asked brightly.

"I've told you a million times to call me Lily," she corrected. "Now, spit it out."

"It's nothing... I was just thinking about how nice it would be..." Could he really say this to her? She would probably be freaked out. "I mean... I can't hold your hand, but maybe if you took me out of my tank, you could... sort of... hold me. For a second. Maybe."

To his surprise, she didn't seem at all disgusted, just concerned. "Is that safe? Can you breath air?"

"Kind of. For a while." He grew more hopeful, his words coming out in a rush. "I couldn't stay out long, five minutes maybe, but that would be safe enough."

"Well, of course, honey. I'd love to."

He beamed, then glanced about quickly to see if there were any observers about. There weren't many, and he could still control the gorilla suit if there were any problems, even if he wasn't inside it. Lifting a hand, he unscrewed the top of his tank and removed the lid. "I can't pull myself out, it's too awkward," he apologized.

Lily stood and was already reaching her hands into the warm water. He sighed as her little fingers brushed his sides and wrapped around his stomach, gently lifting him into the air. She took a seat and settled him in her lap, hands stroking over the little protrusions on his head and making him shiver. "You're so soft," she whispered. "And warm. I guess I thought you'd feel more like an Earth fish," she admitted.

"Well, I'm warm blooded, Miss Lily, unlike the fish on your planet," he explained.

"Just Lily," she gently reminded him. She was used to it; he always lapsed back into calling her Miss Williams or Miss Lily after they parted ways. Her fingers ran over him again, stopping to slip between the glowing projections. As she did this, he emitted a little purring noise, and she laughed. "You're like a kitty cat."

"I am nothing like a cat," he grumbled, torn between being offended and just enjoying the small amount of time he had left with her out of his suit. It was so nice, so soothing. No one had ever touched him this way.

Suddenly he was lifted in the air, high enough to see her face clearly. She gave him a mischievous grin and leaned forward to kiss his lower lip lightly. "Oh! That was... very nice," he complimented, a little breathless from all the attention, "But you certainly don't have to-"

"I wanted to." She did it again to prove her point, then settled him back down again.

Minion wished he could return the favor she was doing him. He nuzzled his face into her stomach a little, and she sighed. The blissful time passed all too quickly, and he became aware that his skin was feeling itchy and dry, and his breathless state was less from the exhilaration of being with her and more from a lack of oxygen. "I...need... to go back now..." he wheezed sadly.

Standing quickly, Lily placed him into the opening of his suit, and he slid back into the water. "Oh, thank you so much, Mi- I mean, Lily. That was wonderful."

"I don't mind if you want to do it again sometime," she said, and he thought she looked a little coquettish when she said it. Wishful thinking, he was sure.

.

*o0o*

.

It turned out, several weeks later, that Lily liked being in water nearly as much as he did. They had managed to rent a private beach with a cabin for the weekend, and Sir had finally agreed to let him have two days off after Miss Ritchie insisted with a gleam in her eye.

Now, his suit was resting next to the little porch, and he and Lily were swimming in the lake water. "Miss Lily!" he called, rushing up to her where she stood in the shallows. "I found this and thought you'd like it!" His words were garbled around something in his mouth, and she held out her hand.

Minion smiled as he watched her examine it, the sunlight bouncing off the dark violet stone and shining on her coffee colored skin. "Oh, Minion, it's lovely! What is this?"

"Purple agate," he announced proudly. "I thought it would look nice with your skin tone." He privately thought he was right. "It's a big piece, maybe I could make it into a necklace for you?"

"That's so thoughtful! Here, let me put this up so we don't lose it..." She rushed out of the water and put the rock on the little table outside their rented cabin, then rushed back, goosebumps rising up on her skin. "Oh... it's cold out of the water!"

"We can head in, dry off," he suggested, worried he was asking too much.

"Absolutely not!" She swam out into deeper water. "I'm all right as long as I'm not out in the air."

"Me too," he laughed. Swimming over to her, he ducked under water and playfully spiralled around her legs a few times, hearing her giggles from above. When he surfaced again, she stroked his head and looked lovingly into his eyes. "Thanks for coming, Lily," he said seriously. "This... has been great. Better than great. The best time of my life."

That seemed to make her a little sad, but she shook it off easily. "I'm glad I could come." With a smirk, she raised her hand up under him and tickled his white belly before threading her fingers through the thin tentacles hanging there, which caused him to gasp. "Something wrong?"

"No- Just- Uh-" He was highly embarrassed, cheeks blushing bright red. "That's..um... You're touching-"

"I know what I'm touching." She leaned down to kiss his forehead, feeling the appendages swelling between her fingers. "I thought we could try it, since we're here... alone..."

.

*o0o*

.

Eventually, as the sun went down and the temperature dropped to under sixty degrees, they had to venture back inside. Minion was recovering from the chill easily in the warm water of his tank. Watching Lily dry off from her hot shower and apply lotion, completely unclothed and unashamed, reminded him pleasantly of their earlier ventures, which had been very successful. He ached to repeat them, but that would have to wait. "You're so pretty," he said wistfully, taking in her slim waist and full chest and backside. Something seemed to well up inside him, and he blurted out, "You deserve better than an alien fish who can't even hold you."

A concerned look came over her. "Minion?"

"I just mean... I'm very lucky that you can put all that aside."

"I'm not putting anything aside," she assured him, pulling her damp curls up in a ribbon.

"How can you say that when-"

"Shhhh..." Her fingers slipped into his tank to caress his cheek. "Honey, I don't want anyone else. I want you."

.

*o0o*

.

He fashioned the whole pendant himself, made with the agate and scraps of precious metals the boss deemed too small to use. It ended up rose gold, a mix of gold and copper. He had enough of the stone and metal left over to fashion earrings, too. And when he was done with those, he thought about making a ring.

Even with his limited social interactions, he knew there was more significance to giving a woman a ring than other types of jewelry. He fantasized about proposing, completely unafraid to commit himself to Lily for the rest of his life. His biggest fear was the possible rejection that could come afterwards.

But make it he did, and using his small wages (which he was now paid, also courtesy of Miss Ritchie's insistence), he purchased a large moissanite gem. It was more brilliant than a diamond and it was from a meteorite.

A jewel from space to link him to his Earthly love.

It was short work. A rose gold band, with the round moissanite stone flanked by trilliant cut purple agates. It matched the set; but it was also clearly different. He held onto the jewelry for a long time, running possible outcomes through his head.

She might say yes; he hoped she did.

She might say no, that she couldn't marry him but they could still be together. He could live with that.

Worst of all, she might say no and refuse to see him anymore.

For a while, he thought that the third possible outcome outweighed either of the other two. He thought he could live with that unknown, and toyed with presenting her with only the necklace and earrings. But the set seemed inseparable to him, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. How should he do it? Spring it on her in the middle of something else? Plan a big event? Yes, make it special and maybe she'd be more receptive. The jewelry, boxed with care, was kept on his person at all times, something he constantly pondered over, until one day it fell out of the pocket in his suit and onto the ground.

"Oh, honey, you dropped something!" Lily said, bending to grab it up before he could react. "It's... is this..." She looked up at him in confusion. "Is this jewelry?"

"Surprise!" he said, looking devastated. "I was going to... you know, set this up better..." He trailed off as she opened the box, gasping. "I just... I love you so much, and I wanted to ask you... ask you.." This was all wrong, and he couldn't say it. She wouldn't ever agree now, in some back corner of the lair, accidentally stumbling upon it before he'd had time to finalize his speech. She'd be a laughing stock, married to an ichthyoid extraterrestrial. He was a fool.

"Minion," she cooed, "It's so beautiful. You made this? For me?"

He gulped and nodded, pushing himself to finish. She'd seen it, surely she would divine the significance of the ring shortly. "I wanted to ask if you would marry me?" The last word ended on an unnaturally high note, and he cringed expecting the worst.

His sensors went off like mad as she embraced the giant robotic suit unexpectedly, and when she looked up she was crying. "Don't cry," he said hastily, heart aching. "You don't have to. We can drop it now, like it never happened..."

"Yes, I'll marry you."

"You will?"

"YES."

He fumbled a bit, but picked up the ring and put it on her left ring finger. It fit perfectly, as he'd known it would. When she looked up again, she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the door. "My place. I've got a big bathtub."

He didn't argue.

.

*o0o*

.

Before they wed, they managed to save up enough for a downpayment on a tiny house near the lake, and to make some small adjustments to the living space. A long, open-topped tank wound around every room, and a series of switches and tubes allowed Minion to enter and exit his robotic suit at will. Sir even designed a filtering unit that would keep the water clean for decades.

In the bedroom, right next to the bed itself, was a large open area of tank, and stairs leading up to it so Lily could join him inside when she wished. On their wedding night, she disrobed and lowered herself into the warm water next to him, another band of solid rose gold glinting next to the original one with the gems, still handcrafted by the fish she loved. "Hey, there, husband. I love you," she said saucily, radiating pure joy as she sank in up to her neck.

He swam to her side, carefully surfacing right at eye level. "I love you, wife," he said simply, and that was all he needed to say.

.

*o0o*

.

~fin


End file.
